When it comes to evangelism, prayer has to be our starting point, because prayer moves us to higher ground, giving us perspective so that we can see the way forward. It reorients our heats and our minds so that we more closely reflect the heart and mind of God, so that we’re not off blazing our own trail through the snow, getting lost, but we’re on God’s path, moving where God leads.

And that's important because if our efforts at evangelism and mission are not actually in line with what God is already doing around us, then they are bound to fail. When we do evangelism, we are not initiating something new; we are coming alongside where God is already actively working. Prayer allows us to ask God how we might align with what God is already doing. How can we bless others and reflect God’s image to them? How can we be used by God for God’s purposes in the lives of others?